I'm confused...and it doesn't take much

Hello everybody

Before I start please don't turn this into a which is best because what suits one person may not suit another.

I live in Birmingham and would like to start Catch wrestling. My father died a few years ago and as I was having a look through some of his photo's I remembered him telling me about a cousin that used to wrestle up in Manchester at Belle Vue. I asked him what his ring name was thinking it was the Big daddy variety of Wrestling (which he hated) but he said it was REAL wrestling. It wasn't Olympic style wrestling so I'm assuming it was 'Catch'. It seems that it's a dying art, I can't find anywhere in Brum that teaches it.

A friend told me to pay a visit to Birmingham's Alexander Stadium/GMAC center for wrestling. I knew that they do freestyle wrestling there but my friend said that it was the same as 'catch'. I'm glad I went as I really liked what I saw. The gentleman that ran the gym was busy teaching so I didn't interrupt and ask him questions. I'm confused though. I was under the impression catch wrestling had submission moves after watching Farmer Burns, Billy Robinson, Josh Barrnett and Tony Cecchine do their thing but I didn't see any submissions at the class. So what is the difference between:

As I said I liked what I saw but would like to learn submissions as well. A few of my friends do Brazilian Ju Jitsu but I don't think it's for me. I lot of clubs offer submission wrestling/grappling but am I right in thinking that this usually a 'catch all' (pun intended) term for whatever mixture of moves they are teaching?

Can anybody help with 'Catch' clubs in the Birmingham/West Midland area or will I need to learn wrestling and the submission side of things separately?

I was under the impression catch wrestling had submission moves after watching Farmer Burns, Billy Robinson, Josh Barrnett and Tony Cecchine do their thing but I didn't see any submissions at the class.

Catch wrestling didn't really have submissions in its heyday, you were allowed to do nasty things to joints in order to force your opponent onto his shoulders. That's still the aim in freestyle and greco which are the modern Olympic styles derived from catch. Those styles now have safety rules which prevent you cranking joints or choking your opponent.

Modern 'catch' is often a style of submission wrestling (or grappling, same thing), in which the aim is to force your opponent to submit with a joint lock or choke. You often get points for doing things like putting him on his back or controlling him in certain positions, they will decide the match in the event that no one taps.

Originally Posted by lovenest

As I said I liked what I saw but would like to learn submissions as well. A few of my friends do Brazilian Ju Jitsu but I don't think it's for me.

If you train in both BJJ and freestyle wrestling you'll be a good grappler, though it won't strictly be 'Catch'. What is it about BJJ that you don't like?

Originally Posted by lovenest

I lot of clubs offer submission wrestling/grappling but am I right in thinking that this usually a 'catch all' (pun intended) term for whatever mixture of moves they are teaching?

Usually. Look at if they have any other qualifications and how their guys do in competition. Lots of other grappling styles have a heavy catch influence, like Paulson's CSW or Shooto.

Originally Posted by lovenest

Can anybody help with 'Catch' clubs in the Birmingham/West Midland area or will I need to learn wrestling and the submission side of things separately?